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Month: June 2016

Alright this is it last post which is a recap of our goal and all the things we have talked about. So, our goal is to raise awareness of childhood obesity in our society and try to make it so that future generations can potentially have lower rates of childhood obesity and just be healthier in general. The reason we are starting with the current generations is because if we learn how to make healthier decisions now then we can teach the next generations what we learn. This will make it so that they hopefully won’t have to deal with this health epidemic or, at least, it will be less present in their generations. This is not something that can be fixed over night but if we start now then we can continue to improve in the future. To change the future we need to start making changes in the present.

We have talked about eating healthy, working out, the contributors to childhood obesity, and transportation options.

Eating healthy: Eat balanced meals! For example, to much of one thing such as carbohydrates isn’t healthy but some carbohydrates are healthy. And remember when you are snacking to eat healthy snacks rather than french fries or candy. Having a diet plan can help you a lot!

Working out: Do a workout everyday and take a few days to rest (you should still try to do something active on those days though or something outdoors). Just like eating healthy, a workout plan can be very useful to keep you on track.

Contributing to childhood obesity: Fast foods and electronics are the two main contributors to childhood obesity that we talked about. However, there are many more which you can look into. Try eat fast food in moderation and also don’t let your friends or children be consumed by a screen. Get them outside doing something active… video games are fun but that doesn’t mean that you should play them all day everyday.

Transportation: Cars are helpful and convenient but there are alternatives that we should use as well. These include biking, scootering, skateboarding, or even walking. We will always use cars but if its possible use an alternative.

I think it is very important to understand what things have happened in the past that have raised the rates of childhood obesity today.

One of the contributing factors is fast food. For example, in 1953 the first McDonalds was created. I am sure you have heard that fast food is one of the biggest contributors to childhood obesity. After the first fast food restaurant opened it turned into a chain and they are now everywhere. Eating fast food is way to common in people’s everyday diets.

Another big contributing factor to childhood obesity is electronics such as video games and television. In the 1927 the first television was released. Once television was released children would stay inside to watch shows rather then going outside and being active during the day. After television came computers, in 1946. Once computers came out the same thing happened as when the television came out, people stayed inside more and weren’t as active. Then came video games which have rolled into present day and have taken over most of teens lives. The first video game was released in the early 1970’s. Video games have become on of the biggest issues today for teen health because people will sit behind screens doing nothing active all day which is extremely bad for you.

There are many more contributing factors to childhood obesity and those are two of the biggest ones that are most relatable to children and teens today. Sadly by 2011-12 17% of children were obese and 31.8% were overweight or obese. This number is way to high and we need to help the next generation so this number can decrease. Childhood obesity has many long term and short term effects that we don’t always think about. As a community we should begin to recognize these things in our everyday lives start to change them. We should also teach the younger generation to go outside more and be more active in their everyday lives and to also make healthy foods at home rather than eating fast food. That doesn’t mean never play video games or eat fast food it just means to balance it out with healthier decisions. The more we start to make healthier decisions the less childhood obesity there will be in the future.

We have become accustomed to using cars as our main form of transportation. Cars are super convenient and the quickest way to get places however there are some alternatives that can be used sometimes. However there are other options such as walking or riding a bike and other options. To some people the idea of that isn’t to appealing but why not?

If you are going somewhere that would only take a few minutes to drive to then make the healthier option and walk, ride a bike, skateboard, scooter, etc. For example, if you want to go get something to eat instead thats a five minute drive away just leave your house a little earlier and use your own energy to get there. Plus you get a little bit of a workout in and it keeps you active. Also, when your active you feel better and actually have more energy.

Another time you can use a different form of transportation other than your car is when you are going to the beach or something. I mean why try to find parking when you can just take a bike.

Like I said at the beginning of this post, cars are great and they are a part of our everyday lives but we should also try to incorporate other forms of transportation into our everyday lives. In the past there were no cars and everyone used alternative forms of transportation which means we can do it now as well. If we start to change this now then we can continue to show our children and have them learn how to be more active in their everyday lives.

I know it sounds so much simpler to just take your car because it is faster and way easier because it doesn’t really take much easier but if every now and then you threw in a bike ride or something else it would be healthier for you. Plus it feels so much better to be active.